SWALLOWS

3-Ship formation flight training with Scrump in his T-34 Mentor and Magoo for the other SF.260.

Here is a video of a fun trip I did with my friend Bertrand

I recently started training for formation flying with the Dragon Squadron in Petaluma – and it has been a lot of fun. The best part of it is that there is another Marchetti.

Here is a video of a recent training flight with Bliltz (instructor) and Brian (in the Nanchang).

When I was looking for details specification of the paint scheme for ST-12, Serge sent me this great picture that shows exactly the dimensions of the spiral on the nose.

I provided Ilio from Corona Air Paint with that picture and he executed a copy on N26AE that I feel is pretty darn close as to how was in 1970.

Finally got to do aerobatics for the time in N26AE. Before going solo, I hired Rich Perkins to cover the basics with me to get me comfortable with attitudes and controls. Great instructor, very technical and precise. A pleasure to learn from. I was also able to get my GoPro attached to the tail and keep it sufficiently in place for the first time.

I am honored to report that Serge Van Heertum published my article about my passion for the Marchetti SF260B and how it all happened…

Here are couple of pictures taken on the way down.

Nice cruising speed – 215Kts @ 23 square at 7500 feet.

And flying over the broken cloud right before San Marcos’ pass VOR

The stencils are almost done but not quite…

Ilio at Corona Air Paint in Corona, CA did an excellent job – the paint job is very faithful to the original ST-12. Serge Van Heertum authorized me to post some of his pictures so stay tune for an upcoming visual proof. In the meantime, here is N26AE straight out of the paint shop – and with some additional inspection and last minute maintenance done on site before doing test flights…